"Nick has something like sharpness, and he knew he could not get off on the morning train. But he could have walked to Baldwin between the time he closed the bar and nine o'clock, and taken the train there," I added.
"I don't believe Nick walked twenty miles: he is too lazy to do anything of the kind," added Cornwood, with a smile of incredulity. "But he is not a great loss to his father; and he may make his way when he is thrown on his own resources. There was another piece of news in Jacksonville this morning."
"What was that?" I inquired.
"But I suppose you know more about this matter than any one in the city. It was said that Colonel Shepard's yacht, in which he was going to New Orleans, left without him or his family. Is that a fact?"
"It is true, to the letter," I replied. "I took the colonel and his family on board of the Sylvania, and they are in the cabin now."
"That's very odd—that Captain Blastblow should leave without his passengers," added Cornwood. "What does it mean?"
"That is more than any one on board of the Sylvania can explain."
"Was there any money on board of the yacht—I forget her name, though I have heard you mention it several times?"
"The Islander: she is the twin-sister of the Sylvania, and as near like her as one pin is like another," I answered. "I am not aware that there was any money on board of her; and I should say there was not, for the passengers had not sent their baggage on board."
"Does any one know where she is gone?"